The Leadership Movement has accused the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) of being behind every act of political violence recorded ahead of next month’s general election, alleging that State institutions have turned a blind eye while ruling party cadres attack…

The Leadership Movement has accused the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) of being behind every act of political violence recorded ahead of next month’s general election, alleging that State institutions have turned a blind eye while ruling party cadres attack opponents and ordinary citizens.

Leadership Movement secretary general Jairos Ngoma said it was beyond dispute that the UPND had become a violent party, pointing to incidents across Lusaka, Southern, Eastern, Northern, Luapula, Western and Muchinga provinces which, he claimed, had gone unpunished.

Ngoma said what troubled him most was the apparent reluctance of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to act against the ruling party despite what he described as mounting evidence of political violence.

“It’s a known fact that the UPND is causing violence at will. Almost all political parties in this election have experienced the bitterness of being attacked by UPND thugs. These thugs have been reported to police, ECZ and other security wings but, sadly, nothing has happened,” he said.

He said the inaction of both the ECZ and the Zambia Police Service amounted to a signal that political violence was being tolerated at the highest levels of government. Ngoma singled out the case of a radio repairer, identified elsewhere as Nelson Chikumbi, who was allegedly battered to death in Chawama for playing an opposition campaign song, saying no arrests had followed despite the killing being widely known.

“We have seen the way this outgoing government has conducted itself so far. We have also seen how scared police officers are to arrest criminals in the Chawama murder of a radio repairer,” Ngoma said.

He drew a comparison with Magoye, where a driver was killed by alleged UPND cadres, saying the only visible police action that followed was an attempt to arrest a journalist covering the story rather than those responsible. He added that similar patterns had played out in Kabwe and Mangango, where he alleged criminals linked to the ruling party continued to move freely.

Ngoma questioned why the ECZ had acted swiftly against the opposition in Kaputa District following the death of a UPND cadre there, yet had not applied the same standard to incidents in Chawama, Magoye, Monze, Choma and Mangango.

“These are matters of national interest. The ECZ has shown total bias in favour of the UPND and, on this score alone, it speaks to an election in which the ECZ is working towards delivering a victory for the UPND against the will of the people,” he said.

He called on the ECZ to redeem its image, saying many Zambians already regarded it as a de facto branch of the ruling party rather than a neutral electoral body. He made a similar charge against the police service, although he stopped short of naming individual officers.

“We’ve heard Zambians calling ECZ a cadre branch of the UPND. We’ve also heard Zambians calling the police a branch of the UPND. Obviously, it’s because of their open bias. However, I want to warn them that change is coming whether they want it or not, and most of those officers at both the police and ECZ will one day answer for these known atrocities,” Ngoma said.

He said citizens were tired of law enforcement institutions behaving like extensions of a political party rather than serving the public impartially, arguing that this growing frustration was increasing support for the Leadership Movement as an alternative.

“We’re the only alternative so far. We’ve shown the desire to unite this broken country. We have shown the desire to reform the ECZ, the police and the Judiciary into people’s institutions of governance, and that will only be achieved if we remove the UPND,” Ngoma said.

His remarks followed an incident on Thursday in which alleged UPND cadres walked and drove to the campaign command centre of NRPUP parliamentary candidate for Kabwata Constituency, Danny Yenga, in Lusaka, where property was reportedly damaged and supporters injured without provocation, according to the Leadership Movement.

The allegations add to wider complaints from opposition parties and civil society organisations over the conduct of the campaign ahead of the 13 August general election. Multiple organisations have this week called for calm and restraint from all political players as the campaign enters its final weeks. Neither the ECZ nor the Zambia Police Service had responded to the specific allegations at the time of publication.